Cultural Diplomacy Despite the State: Mobility and Agency of State and Amateur Musicians in Turkish Classical Music Choirs

The creation of Turkish classical music state choirs beginning in 1976 was one of the most significant cultural institutional developments of the nation-building project by the Turkish Republic’s ruling elite. The conceptual emergence of “musician as civil servant” ushered in a new class of musicians: artists of the state socially and economically empowered with respectability, tenured salaries, and pensions. The rise of state choirs was accompanied by that of “amateur” choirs, which facilitate musical transmission and community-building in Turkey’s urban centers and diaspora. Despite frequent implications that amateur choirs do not contribute high-quality musical performances, I argue that diasporic amateur Turkish music choirs are often effective agents of cultural diplomacy, seemingly occupying a liminal space between states and people as well as between Turkey and the rest of the world. I seek to demonstrate how the relational networks on display and behind the scenes at these amateur choir concerts upset clear boundaries between the work (and dichotomy) of state and non-state actors, disrupting notions of soft power as a force states apply linearly to clear effect. I argue that members of amateur choirs are often more effective agents of cultural diplomacy than the actual “state musicians,” government officials representing the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Although these choir members engage state and non-state actors and enhance the political visibility of their transnational communities, there are limits to the extent diasporic amateur choirs can “bridge” political borders, a rising tension as Turkish musicians seek permanent (if scarce) opportunities to relocate abroad.